Mizuho Financial Group Inc. investors rejected a shareholder climate resolution at an annual general meeting Thursday that had placed Japan’s third-largest bank in the spotlight for its financing of coal power projects.
The resolution, which its sponsor said was the first of its kind in Japan, would have required Mizuho to disclose climate risks and publish a plan to ensure its investments are aligned with the Paris Agreement. The Tokyo-based lender said in a statement earlier this month it already discloses goals based on the climate pact and that the proposal was "inappropriate.”
The initiative garnered 34.5 percent of votes cast in advance of the meeting, short of the two-thirds required to pass. A final tally has yet to be announced. Several high-profile global investors supported the motion, including Nordea Asset Management, a unit of Nordea Bank Abp with €235 billion ($265 billion) in assets under management, and Norwegian investment giants Storebrand ASA and Kommunal Landspensjonskasse.